Five Acts of Betrayal
by Meisha Nicole
Summary: Peter has always looked up to Jimmy and he trusts him more then anything. Upon their arrival to Neverland, he finds that his trust will be broken five times and then he can trust him no more.


_The first time Jimmy betrayed Peter he never saw it coming. _

The moment he found out Jimmy had been captured by those pirates he knew he had to save him. Climbing into the window, he reached for the gun and demanded to know where Jimmy was. A look of shock appeared on his face when his Jimmy appeared from behind the woman. He looked surprised to see him but Peter shook it off. The scene meant nothing.

"Peter put the gun down."

He tried to tell Jimmy he had a boat waiting for them but the man refused. He talked about the pirates being their friends. It contradicted what the Indians had told him and he shook his head violently. He refused to believe what Jimmy was saying. They weren't their friends! The Indians had told him not to trust the pirates.

"I don't trust them, Jimmy," he whispered brokenly.

"Then trust me."

That did it for him and he allowed Jimmy to take the gun away. The man quickly embraced him before one of the pirates pulled him away. When he caught up to him again, he tried to tell him to listen to him and that the pirates would help him but he couldn't believe him. They were crazy and would kill him the first chance they got.

He had tried to reason with Jimmy but the man wouldn't listen. He kept saying to trust the pirates but he knew that they couldn't.

Why wouldn't Jimmy listen to him? The pirates wouldn't help them get home! They needed to stay together and Peter knew staying on this ship wasn't safe so he jumped off. As his crew helped him onto the small boat, he turned back in time to see Fox, his dear friend who had gone back for him, getting stabbed. He faltered and then fell into the water with a big splash.

In shock, he stared back at Jimmy, eyes wide. The man called his name twice but he couldn't hear it. All he could think about was his friend Fox falling to his death after being stabbed.

After they got back to the Indian village, he knew it was his fault. If he hadn't insisted on going back then Fox would still be alive but he had to go back for Jimmy. He had never even considered the man betraying them. The man had rescued him from the poorhouse and given him shelter and food. He had taught him how to survive on the streets and it was as if that meant nothing.

All those years had seemed to mean nothing. Jimmy threw it away for that woman. Seeing him with her had made him feel ill. He had thought they had captured him and it was the last thing he had expected to see.

"If we hadn't gone back for Jimmy, Fox would still be here!"

Peter walked away from Curly's shouting... The boy was angry and so were the others. He didn't blame them because it was his fault. Grabbing a rock, he tossed it over his head and threw it at a tree, letting out a loud, frustrated scream. Wiping at the tears coming from his eyes, he fell to the ground and shifted so his back was against the tree he had hit in frustration.

_"Then trust me, Peter." _

He could hear Jimmy's words ringing loud and clear in his head. It was all he could think about and Peter knew had made the mistake of trusting Jimmy. However, it was instinct to trust the man who was like a father to him. Whenever he was in trouble, James Hook was there for him which was why he heard he was in trouble, or so he thought, he had to rescue him.

"How could you do that to me Jimmy?"

The man who had been his only father figure in life had a part in Fox getting killed but so did he. They were equally guilty and, at that moment in time, Peter wasn't sure what he was upset about the most. Fox dying was devastating but so was Jimmy betraying him. It was like a stab in the gut and the last thing he wanted to do was cry. Would Jimmy care about those tears? He didn't think he would. Peter didn't even know the man anymore!

_ "Stop talking about, Jimmy! He betrayed us. Can't you get that through your head?" _

He could recall Curly shouting at him to stop talking about Jimmy as they paddled away from the boat but he couldn't help it. They weren't close to the man like he had been. He had taken them all in but it had been different with him and Jimmy. One day they were going to be partners and he had always hoped for that one day. Now, it would never happen. The others had to of felt some betrayal but Peter had always stuck by Jimmy.

Peter still wanted to even if he wasn't sticking by him. Turning his head, he wiped at his eyes harshly and sniffed. No more tears. It wouldn't bring Fox back and it wouldn't erase what Jimmy had done. He had stayed with the pirates and hadn't come after them even after what they did to Fox. He couldn't understand it but maybe it was because he wasn't grown up.

That statement had been drilled into his head for years and he felt it was true but it also made him not want to grow up. If growing up made you crazy when a pretty woman came by, then it was something he never wanted to do. Standing, he turned and started to make his way back to the Indian village. He had to get his crew out of here and make it right. He would have to put Jimmy out of his mind and make it up to them. Nothing could bring Fox back but the least he could do was get them back home to London and he didn't care what it took.

He was going to find some way to get his crew home.

xXx

_ The second time Jimmy betrayed Peter he was still smarting from the first time and for a split second, thought he could trust the man again. _

Jimmy still had this hold over him. Even if Peter was convinced that Bonny had turned James head, the man still important to him. They fought after Peter refused to listen to him and when he had him on the ground he spoke of his mother. Peter wasn't sure what to think. Jimmy kept saying things like "he had to listen" and that he wouldn't give up on him now" but then those pirates appeared.

The last thing Peter could let happen was those pirates getting a hold of the orb and going back to London. It would be devastating if they got their hands on it and he couldn't let it happen. As he had scrambled into his feet and out of the room, he found himself trapped outside. Then that woman Jimmy had said that they could trust and would help them, stabbed him.

To describe the feeling was difficult. It was as if his insides were being torn out. He stumbled back and then fell to his death… only to wake up sometime later. Peter was so confused when he woke up and in so much pain. Then that tree spirit from before, Tinkerbell started talking to him, in a matter of speaking. Everything came back to him then and he wasn't sure if he was happy with the tree spirit's decision to save him.

He had just stood there as Bonny stabbed him. Whether or not he was being held back didn't matter. Jimmy didn't fight hard enough and back inside; he tried to convince him that the pirates could be trusted. Bull! They had been the ones to kill Fox and there was no way he was going to trust them. Despite this, Jimmy was insistent and he knew that woman had done something to him. He didn't know what power Bonny had over him but obviously it was enough to make him betray everyone… to betray him. It worse than when he was watching him as the row boat rowed away to safety.

"Peter, pay attention!"

Peter was broken out of his thoughts when Tink shouted at him to pay attention to his flying lesson she was attempting to give to him. Smirking slightly at her, he sped up, only to nearly crash onto the ground.

"You need to pay attention!"

He tried but his thoughts kept drifting back to Jimmy. No matter how he tried, he couldn't get him out of his head. His words keep replaying again and again in his head but Jimmy had betrayed him _again._ He had let himself get fooled for a second time but all he had wanted to do was gather up his crew and get back to London like old times. Pretending like this had never happened and to get back with Jimmy was what he wanted but it couldn't happen now.

Peter glanced at Tink and then shot her a smile. Appearing to get out of control, he landed on the ground with a loud thump. As he felt Tink shaking him and calling his name, he opened his eyes and started laughing. The tree spirit frowned at him.

"I can't teach you if you insist on being so childish."

"I thought that was what you liked about me?" he teased with a slight grin.

It wasn't all fun and games though. Peter wanted to go find the pirates because they had the orb and he wouldn't let them get to London.

"You're not ready, Peter. You still need to heal!" Tink insisted.

She kept telling him he wasn't ready but he was.

"I don't mean just physically, Peter. You need to heal mentally as well. From what I have gathered… you were close to this Hook and a betrayal is hard on any creature that is unfortunate to experience such a thing."

Rolling onto his back, he glanced at Tink and took her words as face value. She was right but he didn't want to think of Jimmy. Those pirates had done something to him and he couldn't trust the man with the way he was right now. He had to push aside all his admiration and love for him, making sure he focused on taking that orb back so he could get back to London with his crew.

"I'm ready, Tink. If I wait any longer those pirates will get back to London and I can't let that happen. I don't know what their planning but I will get that orb back."

"Peter…" Tink muttered, clearly disapproving of what he was planning because she knew he wasn't ready with his wound still fresh. It might've been healed to a certain extent but he was nowhere near ready to find the pirates.

"I promised I would get them home safe and I'm not going back on my promise."

Peter wouldn't break his promise like Jimmy had broken his. Rolling onto his side his mood was suddenly soured by the talk of the pirates and the accusation from Tink that he wasn't ready to face them. He would do it quickly and they wouldn't even know what had hit them! Glancing at the tree spirit frowning at him, he grinned and then took off into the air. "I'm going to find them, Tink and I will make sure I get that orb back."

This time he was going to put Jimmy out of his mind. If he let him enter his mind, then he would distract him and then there was no way he could stop Bonny and her men from doing whatever they wanted with that orb.

"Peter, I'm telling you, you aren't ready!"

"I am, Tink. Trust me."

Trust me. It was such a simple phrase and sometimes, no matter how hard you wanted to trust someone who had been there for you since you were young, you couldn't.

xXx

_ The third time he betrayed Peter he genuinely believed the old Jimmy was back. _

"I've been a fool, Peter."

He was delirious when he heard those words and wasn't sure if he was hearing correctly. The feeling of being lifted up came to him but he soon passed out again. When he came too, he was outside and as he looked over there was Jimmy. He said something to him and it was hard for his mind to rationalize it much less make it out. Pushing himself up, he listened as Jimmy spoke and then interrupted him when he got the nerve to ask the question. "What happened?"

"I woke up?"

"Your lady friend?"

"She'll have to have someone else to wrap around her little finger."

Jimmy embraced him and spoke words that filled his heart but he was noticeably worrisome. He had done so much and betrayed him all ready. His new loyalty seemed to be towards those pirates and not the boys he had helped save from the street. Peter didn't want to believe him because he couldn't take it if the man betrayed him again.

On the other hand, he felt himself pulling towards Jimmy. His words ignited something in him and his tone, as well as the fact that there were no pirates around, made him belief that he was done with that Bonny and had his head straight.

"Let's go home, Peter."

"Do you mean it, Jimmy?" he asked, wincing as he moved. In the end, Tink had been right. He hadn't been ready and had nearly gotten himself killed again. Seeing, Jimmy with him out here, though made him feel like it wasn't all bad.

"Of course I do. Can you walk?"

Peter sat there, still for a moment, as he considered his words. "Y-Yeah I can," he said with a pained grin, managing to force himself to his feet. There was this nagging doubt that Jimmy wasn't being trustful but the more he talked, the less he trusted that little voice.

The Jimmy he had been raised by was back. He had become almost like a stranger while they had been here in Neverland and he almost didn't recognize who he was anymore. With Jimmy talking the way he was, he trusted him and smiled at him. "This way," he said to the man when he asked him which way they should go.

Along the way, Jimmy told him about his mother and what had happened to his father. Jimmy had never told him but he listened, eager to find out about his past. "When we get back it will be like old times won't it, Jimmy?"

Peter wanted nothing more than to go back to London and work the east end like they all used to before this and now he knew that Jimmy wanted the same. "We'll go this way," he whispered to the man, nudging his head forward. Smiling at him, he flew off with Jimmy following closely behind.

In the end, he realized he was a fool.

Leading him to where the Indian's entrance into where the tree spirit colony was located had been a terrible mistake. Peter never saw it coming and thought he could trust Jimmy. Only when he came up behind the lookout and hit him in the head did he realize something was wrong.

"What are you doing, Jimmy? Stop!"

The man kept tying his hands together and said nothing and then the pirates appeared behind him.

"You can't tell them!"

Peter felt the tears but hold them back as Bonny walked towards them. "I trusted you!"

"It will all turn out for the best, Peter. You'll see."

If that was Jimmy's way of reassuring him it didn't work. Digging his heals into the ground, the man shoved and pulled him along, Peter trying to fight the tears as he shouted at Jimmy. His words fell on deaf ears and he turned his head. How could he do this to him? He had betrayed his trust again and Peter, like the foolish child he was had fallen for it but if this was what adulthood did to you, he never wanted to grow up. It screwed with your head and made you turn against your friends.

_ "I've been a fool Peter. I woke up, Peter." _

Those words rang through his mind and he couldn't believe he had fallen for them again. He had thought Jimmy had changed and foolish him had led him right to the passage to the tree spirit colony. Peter had not only committed an act of betrayal against them but also again the Indians who had done nothing but help them since the second they stepped foot into Neverland.

The closer they got, the more nervous he became. He could hear Jimmy conversing with that Bonny and he turned his head away. They were keeping a close eye on him and there was no way he could fly away much less run off. Staring ahead, he saw the colony getting closer and closer with every step they took. He didn't know what they were going to do to them but it wasn't going to be good.

"Don't do this, Jimmy," he said quietly enough for only the man to hear. He only turned to him before looking away as he kept walking.

"You'll understand one day when you'll older, Peter."

"Then I'll never grow up."

He struggled but they shoved him forward. Trusting Jimmy had been a mistake and it had cost him dearly. In trusting Jimmy and letting the man lead him on, he had inadvertently betrayed people he had come to see as his friends. "What are you doing?" Peter asked in horror as the pirates started moving around. At first, he couldn't see what they were doing and then he saw fire. "No, stop!" he screamed in horror, struggling at his bounds as he tried to rush forward.

Due to his foolishness, Peter had claimed the lives of his friends and he couldn't blame Jimmy even if he had been the one to betray him.

xXx

_ The fourth time Jimmy betrayed Peter; he knew it was going to happen but saw no other options but to feign trust in the man. _

"It's even more beautiful then I imagined."

The words that escaped Bonny's mouth caused his stomach to drop as he watched the pirates stop, watching the tree spirit colony with awe written all over their faces. Then, suddenly, Bonny gave and order and they started pouring contents of barrels all around the colony. "What are they doing?" Peter asked.

"It's just something to ward them off," Jimmy whispered in his ear but Peter didn't believe him and it did little to quell his fears. He wasn't about to trust Jimmy now after he had led him to think he had him back.

Watching as they emptied the contents of the barrels, he audibly gasped when one of the pirates, on command, lit a flame which caused a fire to start abruptly. He felt sick to his stomach as he watched the Tree Spirit colony burn. They had been good to him and gave him his powers. Tink had saved his life and how did he repay them? He brought the pirates straight to them. "No!" he screamed, fighting against Jimmy who held him tightly so he couldn't get away.

It was a terrible sight and he could almost hear the cries of the tree spirits as they and their home burned to death. "You can't do this!" he cried, fighting against Jimmy, shaking his head as if he wanted to pretend that this wasn't happening but it was impossible to ignore the evidence burning right before his eyes.

"Tell us where the mineral dust is."

Hearing Jimmy's words, he stared at the carnage before him, the man's words not truly sinking in. The grief was overpowering and he shook violently, shaking his head as he tried to accept the sight before his eyes. Peter closed his eyes momentarily, tears slipping down his cheeks. He didn't care what a sight he made and nor did he care what any of the pirates thought of him.

He had betrayed the Indians and the tree spirits after they had done nothing but try to help him and what had it been for? Jimmy had betrayed him yet again. He led him to believe things would be back to the way they were and he had hoped with all his heart that he was telling the truth. The way he acted seemed like old Jimmy and it was why he was so quick to believe in him but that had been his downfall.

Trapped in his thoughts, he had forgotten about all the pirates around him and the fact that Jimmy was holding onto him, preventing him from moving. Suddenly, he turned him around and crouched down in front of him so the two of them were eye level. The look in Jimmy's eyes scared him but Peter was unable to feel the fear. All he felt was numb.

"Look we can't undo what we've done but once we have what we came for we disappear back to London. Don't you see, Peter? The best way to get rid of us is by telling us what we want to know."

Jimmy's words rang loud and clear and he didn't believe it at all. His words were full of malice. It sounded almost sincere but none of it was true. The kind of sincerity the man was using was fake and only used in situations when one wanted something. This was the game Jimmy was playing and standing before him, tears slipping down his cheeks, he thought about the damage he had played a hand in causing. There were no other options for him and he saw no way out of it so, as he opened his mouth to speak, he said something foolish.

"You promise you'll leave forever?" Peter asked almost brokenly.

The smile Jimmy gave Peter was more of a smirk. It held no amount of trust in it and it reeked of betrayal. He knew he couldn't trust the man he had once considered a father figure. Peter was aware this would lead to Jimmy betraying him again. Once he had the power of the mineral dust, there would be nothing stopping him and no reason why he would go back to London and leave Neverland alone. If he agreed to tell him, he would be walking right into this betrayal.

Peter couldn't take anymore, however. It was all too much. With the tree spirit colony in ruins he didn't want to fight anymore and saw no opportunity to get away from Jimmy. Staring him in the eyes, he took a breath and said what needed to be said. He smoothed his hair back and he turned away, almost flinching in disgust. He didn't want his touch as they walked closer and closer to the spring where Peter had been given his powers.

He had walked right into Jimmy's betrayal that time and it had been no surprise for him. Knowing it was coming was even worse because he felt like he was knowingly betraying his friends now. It almost made him as bad as Jimmy. The man said a few things to him on the walk but he ignored his words. They meant nothing to him and they were all false.

He had seen no other way. Peter was trapped and they wouldn't stop until they got their way. They were going to keep coming until they found out the secret of the mineral dust. If he told them, Jimmy promised they would go away which was a bold faced lie but he wanted to end this. If he told them maybe… he could stop them. Looking over at Jimmy, the man sent him a smile and he turned his head away quickly.

There was no hoping for the old Jimmy back now. He was long gone and things could never be the same.

xXx

_ The fifth time Jimmy betrayed Peter; he realized the man had been doing it to him for nearly his entire life. _

The place was ashes as they walked through what was once a vibrant and lively colony for the tree spirits. Peter kept his head down as they walked towards the spring because if he didn't have to look at it he could put up a bubble of denial around him. Telling them about the spring had been a mistake but he saw no other choice in the matter. When they approached it, he lifted his head and saw the greed and selfishness in Jimmy's eyes and he didn't even recognize him anymore. Those eyes that had once looked at him with care were something twisted and wrong.

"What do we do next?" Jimmy murmured, shaking him hard when Peter looked away momentarily and didn't answer the question. There was no avoiding telling him and all he would do was hurt himself in the long run so he answered.

"You swim through it," he answered quietly, glancing at Bonny who stared at the spring with amazement and greed in her eye. The expression made him sick to his stomach and he turned his head as she undressed and slipped into the spring.

"Where does she come out?"

He was jerked roughly again by Jimmy and he only hesitated momentarily before answering again. "Over there," he whispered, gesturing with his head to a small entrance underneath the ice. Stumbling as he was yanked over there by Jimmy, they waited and the pirates watched with amazement as Bonny surfaced, floating in midair. All of her was glowing and she had this look of completion on her face.

Then, all of a sudden, Peter's stomach clenched as the look changed. It turned to one of pain and then she just combusted. There was nothing left but dust in the aftermath and he didn't need to turn to see the look of anger in Jimmy's eyes. He could practically feel it coming off him in waves.

"What went wrong? What happened?" he demanded to know.

Peter felt close to panicking and tried to search for an answer. "She did everything exactly as I did! Except…"

"Except what?" Jimmy screamed at him.

"The tree spirits were here then and they were… singing a strange song."

Then, Peter's whole world came crashing down as Jimmy lashed out. He went up to him and grabbed the back of his head and yanked his head up so their eyes met.

"You're just like your father. Self-righteous and I see through your innocence just like I saw through his!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Did you think I would let him get away with just stealing my girl and humiliating me?" Jimmy screamed. "There were no hard feelings after I cut him open like a Christmas pig!"

"You killed my father?"

"It was a fair duel!"

"Why take me then?"

"I loved your mother so much and I saw her in you," Jimmy said quietly, and then his voice turned angry again. "Stupid me thought I could ease the guilt by rearing you as my own but all I made was another one just like him!"

Peter took his chance to fly away when the Indians suddenly attacked and he kept flying until he was deep in the forest. Crouching on the ground, he wiped his eyes as he tried to stop the tears from crying. It was a childish thing to do but it was the only thing he could think of was Jimmy's words. The man had committed the worse act of betrayal against him and had lied to him for his entire life. Jimmy had even said his father died in an accident and that he had taken him as a debt to his mother. All of it had been a lie.

His father had been killed by the man he had seen as a father figure since he was a young child. It was a devastating blow and he had to try hard to stifle a sob. The second he spotted Jimmy in the work house that day it had all been planned by him. He hadn't gotten a soft heart and decided to take him in. It had only been a way for Jimmy to alleviate his guilt after he had killed his father and in a way he probably killed his mother as well.

Turning his head when he heard voices, he saw two tree spirits hovering near him and he gasped as he stood. They were shouting accusations at him and he knew they were true but he hadn't meant to do it. The last thing he wanted was for the spirit colony to be destroyed and he knew he had let his love for Jimmy get in the way. Curly had pointed it out when Fox died and it was still true. The worst part was that the love had mostly been a lie on his part. He had never seen him as anything but a way to lessen the guilt and when that didn't work, Jimmy turned on him.

"He tricked me! I didn't mean for the pirates to do that!" Peter exclaimed as he placed his arms over his head, trying to shield himself from their attack.

Peter realized that, in the end, he was at fault and deserved to be punished by the tree spirits for what he had done to them. Still, he tried to tell them that it wasn't his fault but his cries fell on deaf ears and they went through with their punishment. The last thought he had before he, almost literally lost his mind, was that he had this coming for a while now.


End file.
